On and On
by kwordy
Summary: Lily realizes her feelings for James but James doesn't seem to have feelings for her anymore. Complications ensue.


**Author's Note:** This is just something I thought of when I got bored and I figured it would be fun to write. I'm not sure exactly how long it's going to be, yet.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the storyline.

LPOV

Lily stepped through the doorway carefully, looking for a certain boy. There were plenty of people she would be happy to see at that moment, but she had one particular person in mind. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about James Potter for weeks. She still hadn't figured out how she wound up liking him after the dozens of times she had turned him down, but she had, and that was that. Was she going to just blurt out her feelings the next time she saw him? Absolutely not. She still had no idea what she had so suddenly seen in someone she had detested for so long.

But she was considering it. After all, she couldn't keep the fact that she liked him a secret forever and there was really no reason to try in the first place. She thought he might be with Lupin and Sirius, but a quick glance around the common room had given away that they were there without him. Not that she would have told him she liked him in front of the entire house, but she hadn't had a chance to speak with him since her revelation that she liked him the week before and was dying to see if this new awareness of her feelings for him would make talking to him feel a little bit... different.

She could remember how, just a few months ago, she'd fancied Lupin and smiled to herself as she watched him trying to work while Sirius made a game of distracting him. Things seemed to have changed so quickly. She still hadn't worked out what she would say to James when she saw him. Could she really just go up to him and admit she liked him after she'd denied it for so long? Well, she was no coward; of course she'd tell him.

Finally she saw him step from the boys' dormitory into the common room, Peter Pettigrew by his side. She was gathering up the courage to go and speak to him when she realized he had already stepped outside with Peter and Sirius trailing along behind him. She felt uneasy with the realization that he hadn't so much as glanced at her.

"Morning, Lupin," she murmured as sat in the armchair Sirius had recently occupied.

"Morning, Evans," he said cheerfully. "Isn't it a beautiful day?"

"Yes," she said uncertainly. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you so... happy all of the sudden.

"Well, I'm not sure that it's your business," he said glancing up at her apologetically.

"Terribly sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

"No, actually. I'm being rude. And I'm sure you'll be happy to hear this. Do you remember last week when James asked you out?" Did she remember? Of course. After telling him off with unusual ferocity, she had found herself feeling strangely guilty. After thinking it over long and hard she had finally realized that she wished she had said yes. She would never forget the moment she realized she had feelings for James Potter.

"Yes, I do remember," she sighed, unable to help the smile creeping over her face.

"Well, after being told how he was a senseless git and an arrogant toerag and all of that, James realized something. Can you guess what that something was?"

Lily shook her head, smile slipping away to be replaced by dread. "What was it?"

"He's decided to stop bothering you." Lupin turned back to his parchment like that was all that needed to be said, leaving her puzzled.

"How do you mean?"

"What?" Lupin glanced up. "Oh, he decided he'll stop asking you out. He figured if you wanted to be left alone that badly, he could just quit. Don't you get it? He's decided to give getting over you a shot. Which comes as a relief, especially to me, seeing as it means maybe he'll finally stop talking about you. No offense, but hearing about any girl constantly gets a bit repetitive." He stopped talking, having apparently come to the conclusion that Lily had no intentions of cutting him off any time soon.

"He-he's over me? You're quite sure?" Her jaw dropped.

"Wonderful, isn't it? You really should see your face."

PPOV

"You're done with pining over her for good, then?" Sirius challenged.

"For the last time, yes," James insisted.

"And you really mean it, this time?"

"Absolutely."

Sirius gave his friend a dubious look but said nothing else. James insisted that he was over Lily once or twice a month, but this time he really meant it, Peter was sure. This was the first time he'd made it past the twenty-four hour mark without changing his mind. Maybe he'd stand by the decision this time. Even Remus agreed that James really seemed to be trying; after all, it had been three days and he was still going strong.

"But you aren't going to go back to liking her, by any chance, when you see her snogging some other bloke a week from now?"

"She won't be snogging anyone a week from now," James said dangerously. "Why, what've you heard?"

"Just asking, mate," Sirius said innocently.

"You've heard something."

"I've heard nothing, honest," Sirius said with a look of such poorly faked innocence that even Peter could see through it.

He knew what Sirius must have heard. He'd heard it himself; a fact in which he took immense pride, seeing as he was usually excluded from gossip. Lily Evans was sweet on Remus Lupin. Practically the whole school knew, of course; something _that_ interesting tended to be gobbled up by the students. After all, it wasn't everyday that the most popular boy in the school was rejected in favor of one of his closest friends. What nobody could figure out was whether or not Remus returned Lily's feelings.

Peter was suddenly quite glad Remus wasn't there, a look in his direction would have given everything away, and then nobody would have been able to escape James's explosive temper.

"Who is he?"

"She doesn't have a boyfriend," Sirius insisted idly. Then, with a mischievous smile, he added one fateful word "Yet."

"How do you mean?"

"I thought you were done pining over her for good."

"I am; naturally. Just curious."

"You'd best learn to repress that 'curiosity' of yours," Sirius warned.

"I don't _really_ care," James claimed.

"Of course not," Sirius smirked.

"I mean it. I wouldn't care if she dated every boy in the castle."

"I take it you mean every boy _except you_?"

"Absolutely."

Sirius smirked again. Peter had noticed long ago that his friend had a strange interest in getting James to have a relapse where his feelings with Lily were concerned. He just seemed to find it entertaining that James genuinely believed he could get over 'the girl of his dreams' overnight.

"Then let's make a point of telling all the boys that Lily Evans is finally up for grabs, how about it?"

"Why not?" James shrugged, feigning indifference, though his eyes flashed and jaw tightened.

"Well, I'm stuffed. I think I'll head back and keep Remus company. Would either of you care to join me?"

Peter nodded eagerly while James shrugged and muttered an "Alright."

The brief silence was over once again by the time they were back to the common room, with Sirius talking about Lily nonstop.

"Anything interesting at breakfast?" Lupin asked wearily.

After a glance around the common room to make absolutely sure that no one else was there, James said, "Nothing but trying to convince this numbskull," here he paused to jab Sirius in the ribs, "that I'm over Evans."

"And are you?"

"No doubt about it," James boasted.

"James wouldn't even care if she dated every boy in the castle, isn't that right?" Sirius prompted.

"Of course not."

Remus got a strange smile. "You wouldn't care at all?"

"No. Why, _does_ she have a boyfriend already?"

"I don't think so," Remus said, frowning.

"Good-not that I care," James quickly amended.

TPOV

Lily was sitting quietly next to Tonks, staring down at the sheets on her bed.

"I can't cheer you up if you won't tell me what's wrong."

"There's nothing wrong."

"In that case, what isn't right?"

"Everything."

"Could you narrow it down a bit, maybe?"

"I like James," Lily confessed tearfully, too choked up to say more.

"James?" Tonks questioned skeptically. Though she was in her first year at Hogwarts, she had quickly picked up on the fact that James asking Lily out and her harshly rejecting him was a well-established ritual that occurred on a biweekly basis. Lily changing her mind would ruin the tradition, but Tonks-not being a creature of habit-had no qualms with that. "So what's the problem? You like him, he likes you. You declare your mutual love and go on an epic first date. Then you proceed to fall even more madly in love with him until he eventually proposes on the third date. And you both live happily ever after; the end."

Her words did not have the intended effect; tears welled up in Lily beautiful eyes and proceeded to flow down her cheeks. "What's the matter?" Tonks cried in dismay, turning her hair a pale blue to match her mood.

"He doesn't like me anymore."

"Where did you get an idea _that_ ridiculous? You've had nutty ideas before, but really..."

"Lupin told me so this morning."

"I'm sure he's just mistaken."

"Go ask them," Lily scoffed. "You'll see soon enough. I missed my chance. Why was I such an idiot?"

"Well, you're being even more of an idiot now, if you ask me."

"Nobody asked you," Lily sobbed into her pillow, causing Tonks to chuckle at the difference between her words and her tone.

"I'm going to ask, then."

When Lily didn't respond, Tonks silently stood up and stormed towards the door. Prying it open, she slid into the common room unseen. She immediately recognized James's voice.

"I'm telling you for the last time, I'm not interested in her anymore."

"You keep saying that, mate."

"I think he really means it."

"And I do."

"But you say this all the..."

Tonks slipped away, not wanting to hear more. How dare he break her friend's heart! So what if it was an accident and entirely unintentional and something he would almost definitely take back if he had any idea what he was doing? How dare he!

"Lily, you know what? You're right!" she announced the second she'd rejoined her friend. "But he's not worth crying over if he's so, so... unreliable. You should find someone else!"

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, apparently shocked out of her tears by the force of the words Tonks had just spoken.

"You just started liking him; how badly can you like him, really? Just forget about him. You could try to get that Lupin boy to like you, right? You fancied him for a long while."

"But." Lily frowned, apparently unable to come up with any excuses.

"Move on. I heard it from the horse's mouth. He's just not interested anymore."

RPOV

Lupin walked away from the library, having returned the books he'd needed for the paper he'd finished that morning. He whistled quietly, trying to distract himself from the approach of the full moon in just under a week.

Unexpectedly, Evans rushed up to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. She seemed a bit flustered.

"Yes, very much so. I was just wondering... we're going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, Saturday, and I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to go with me. On a date?"

Dozens of thoughts seemed to rush through his mind at that moment, from the fact that he'd liked her for a while but denied it for James' sake to the fact that James had said he 'didn't care if she dated every boy in the castle'. Finally his mind landed on Lily's expression as she stood in front of him, chewing her bottom lip nervously.

"I'd love to," he replied.

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